In later years increasing demands have been made upon the safety of toys, that is, they shall be so designed that the playing child is not injured, or exposed to the risk of being injured, by toys. As a matter of fact however, it is very difficult to foresee all the risks to which an unpredictable child can be exposed when playing with various toys. However, one endeavors to foresee as far as possible these risks, and ever increasing demands are made upon the design of toys. In Sweden, personnel of the National Board for Consumer Policies is examining toys from the viewpoint of safety and abroad the problem has also been noticed, particularly in the USA, where toys are subject to a comprehensive examination and checking.
Some general criteria must always be met, for example, there must not be any loose, small pieces which the child can put in its mouth, and neither must it be possible to tear such small pieces loose. If a toy is demolished during severe playing the wreck and other scraps must not be able to injure the child.
A specific problem concerns metallic objects which are components of toys, in particular toys of non-rigid plastics, thus objects in the form of axles, rods, pins etc. As a matter of course, wheel axles of a toy car must not get loose or project; such an axle is rather thin, and if freely exposed wholly or in part it can cause serious damage. Such metal objects which are components of toys must thus be rigidly secured in place and not be able to be torn loose, and neither must any part of such objects be able to lay itself bare and thereby cause damage.
These severe demands for rigid securing of metal bars and axles in toys can sometimes cause production problems which must be solved. As an example, toy cars of plastics can be mentioned, where rigid securing and fixation of the wheel axles in certain cases can cause difficult manufacturing and mounting problems, as will be exemplified in the following in connection with a statement of the background of the invention.